Buyer snags luxury Manhattan skyscraper that once housed Sports Illustrated for ONLY $8m thanks to bizarre sales quirk

A New York City skyscraper that once sold for $332million and was previously home to Sports Illustrated has been scooped up for just $8.5million.

The 249ft, 23-story office block on West 50th Street sits a block away from Radio City Music Hall and Rockefeller Center and offers stunning views, NYTimes reports.

The sprawling building once boasted curated lobby art exhibits, 24-hour lobby attendance as well as an on-site parking garage. 

Despite its history, it sold for just $8.5million in an incredible online auction this week.

The final sale price left multiple office developers and sales brokers stunned.

David Sturner, a developer whose father’s firm owned the building before selling it in 2006, told the New York Times that while the building ‘certainly wasn’t the greatest asset’ they owned, it was still a ‘solid’ property.

‘What’s shocking is how fast the valuations dropped now that we’ve seemingly reached bottom, or close to it,’ he said.

The high-rise’s longtime owner, an investment fund managed by UBS Realty Investors, had bought the tower for a staggering $279 million in August 2012. 

The final sale has left multiple office developers and sales brokers stunned after many imagined that the building would be sold for a higher price tag

The building’s longtime owner, REIT, an investment fund managed by UBS Realty Investors had bough the tower for a staggering $279 million in August 2012

The funding company has previously tried to sell property for under $50 million but did not succeed.

Ultimately, UBS Realty listed the iconic building on a two-day, public online auction on a real estate auction site known as Ten-X. 

The property was listed alongside suburban strip malls, motels and apartment buildings. 

‘Benefiting from a centralized Midtown Manhattan location, 135 W 50th Street sits at the heart of New York’s Corporate Row and the vibrant 6th Avenue corridor.

‘Truly at the center of it all, top restaurants and high-end retail connects tenants to the authentic and electrifying energy of New York City’s most bustling neighborhood,’ the listing read.  

It remains unknown what the new owner will be planning to do with their newly acquired plot of land as companies in recent times have abstained from setting up their systems there due to its dated interiors, despite some recent lobby and elevator upgrades

The building is also notably far from major commuter hubs like Pennsylvania Station and Grand Central Terminal – causing commuting issues

The auction for this West 50th property opened earlier this week with a starting bid of $7.5 million. 

But by Wednesday, seconds before the sale was meant to end with only one $8.5 million bid, the auction was extended thrice for a total of 10 minutes and 30 seconds before it ended at the final sale price. 

It remains unknown what the new owner will be planning to do with their newly acquired plot of land as companies in recent times have abstained from setting up their systems there due to its dated interiors, despite some recent lobby and elevator upgrades.

The building is also notably far from major commuter hubs like Pennsylvania Station and Grand Central Terminal – causing commuting issues.